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What Is the Life Expectancy of Someone with Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia?

Reviewed on 2/15/2022
Rendering of cancer cells
Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM), a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is a slow-growing cancer of the white blood cells. Survival rates for WM range from 5 years (high-risk group) and 8 years (intermediate-risk group) to 12 years (low-risk group).

Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare, slow-growing cancer that begins in the white blood cells. It is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The International Prognostic Scoring System for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia (IPSSWM) is used to estimate the long-term outlook for symptomatic patients requiring therapy, based on:

  • Age
  • Hemoglobin level
  • Platelet count
  • Beta-2 microglobulin level
  • Serum (blood) monoclonal IgM level

Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia Life Expectancy

Based on the above factors, people are scored into low, intermediate, and high-risk groups. Median survival rates, that is, the length of time at which half of the patients in each group have died and half are still alive, for each group are:

  • 12 years for the low-risk group
  • 8 years for the intermediate-risk group
  • 5 years for the high-risk group

However, new types of treatments have become available and recent studies suggest median survival rates closer to 14-16 years after diagnosis. 

It is important to note that the average age of diagnosis for Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia is 70 years, so life expectancy ends up being close to that expected for the general population.

What Are Symptoms of Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia?

About 25% of people with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia have no symptoms when they are diagnosed because the cancer is slow growing. WM is often only diagnosed when a person has blood tests done for another reason.

Early symptoms of Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia include: 

What Causes Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia?

The cause of Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia is not known, but it’s believed to be due to mutations in the genes of a B-lymphocyte cell that cause the abnormal B-cell to continue to multiply uncontrollably. 

Risk factors for developing Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia include:

  • Being male
  • Ethnicity: Caucasians are significantly more likely to develop WM than African Americans
  • Age 65 years and older
  • Having IgM monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (called IgM MGUS)
  • Having a closely-related family member with WM or another type of lymphoma
  • Certain autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren’s syndrome, or a viral illness such as hepatitis C

How Is Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Diagnosed?

Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia is often incidentally diagnosed when a person has blood tests done for another reason. In addition to a medical history and physical examination, tests used to confirm a diagnosis of WM include:

  • Blood tests
    • Antibodies 
      • Serum protein electrophoresis
      • Serum immunofixation electrophoresis
      • Serum quantitative immunoglobulins
    • Complete blood count (CBC) 
    • Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) 
    • Serum viscosity
    • Cryocrit and cold agglutinins
    • Beta-2 microglobulin
  • Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy
  • Imaging tests

What Is the Treatment for Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia?

There are several types of treatments used to manage Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, including supportive interventions, medications, stem cell transplants, and participation in clinical trials. 

Supportive interventions are used to relieve symptoms and to help prepare patients for cancer treatment. Supportive interventions may include:

  • Plasmapheresis
  • Red blood cell transfusion
  • Surgical removal of the spleen (splenectomy)

Drug therapy to treat Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia may include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or corticosteroids. These drugs may be used by themselves or combined with other drugs and/or treatments. Medications used to treat WM may include: 

Stem cell transplants may be used to replace unhealthy blood stem cells with healthy ones. This treatment option may be used for cases of Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia that recur after initial treatments. Types of stem cell transplantation include:

  • Allogenic: Donor stem cells are used
  • Autologous: The patient’s own stem cells are used 

For patients who do not respond to the above treatments, they may be able to participate in a clinical trial.

Reviewed on 2/15/2022
References
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https://www.cancer.org/cancer/waldenstrom-macroglobulinemia/about/key-statistics.html